'Pokémon Sword and Shield' Leaks: Accurate 4channer Reveals 2 Legendaries

Nintendo finally revealed Pokémon Sword and Shield this week, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about the upcoming game, from an official release date to the new legendary Pokémon that you’ll encounter and catch. However, it turns out some of that information might already be publicly available thanks to an earlier Sword and Shield leak from February 20 that accurately predicted the title and setting while also revealing a few more details.

Before we go any further, it’s worth noting that this Pokémon Sword and Shield leak comes from 4chan. Normally that’d make it about as trustworthy as Team Rocket, but in this case it’s worth taking a second look if only because the leaker already managed to get a few things right.

Here’s the full text of the Pokémon Sword and Shield leak, which was archived online here (4chan automatically deletes all posts after a set amount of time):

Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield

Region is Great Britain

Legendary Pokémon are metal snake and wooden horse

Armored Evolutions

Armored Charizard, Armored Mewtwo, Armored Flygon, Armored Zeraora…

Meltan ties into Armored Evolution and Legendary lore

The first two details on this list have already been confirmed. Those titles for the next two Pokémon games are correct, and Pokémon Sword and Shield are indeed set in Great Britain (or, more accurately, an approximation of the region called Galar).

The 4chan leaker goes on to list off some very interesting information about Pokémon Sword and Shield that hasn’t been confirmed by Nintendo just yet. Specifically, they mention two new legendary Pokémon and a new type of “armored evolution” for some popular pocket monsters. In both cases, they seem to follow the themes seemingly introduced in the first trailer.

Let’s start with the legendaries: a “metal snake and wooden horse.” These sound like man-made Pokémon, which isn’t unprecedented in the franchise but still feels like an interesting new direction to take. Especially since these legendary Pokémon seem to be totally synthetic, built by humans and somehow brought to life either through technology or some sort of Pokémon magic.

“Armored evolutions” also matches the new Sword and Shield aesthetic well, while also referencing classic British knights. We definitely can’t wait to see Charizard decked out in full armor.

Finally, this leaker claims that Meltan, a Gen 7 Steel-type Pokémon could play a key role in both the new armored evolutions and the Sword and Shield legendaries. Again, this ties into the Industrial Revolution vibes of the upcoming games.

Of course, like we said before, you should take this 4chan leak with a grain of salt, but we wouldn’t be surprised if when Pokémon Sword and Shield does launch it features a giant metal snake, a wooden horse, and Mewtwo in a suit of armor.

Pokémon Sword and Shield launches in late 2019 for Nintendo Switch.